Emmy-winning actor Allison Janney has joined the Apple TV+ comedy series Mrs. American Pie. The upcoming show has no relation to the American Pie films. Janney joins a powerhouse cast already consisting of Kristen Wiig. Laura Dern is on as a producer.
Set in the early 1970s, Mrs. American Pie “follows Maxine Simmons (Wiig) and her attempt to secure her seat at America’s most exclusive table: Palm Beach high society. As Maxine attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have nots, the series asks the same questions that baffle us today: Who gets a seat at the table, how do you get a seat at the table, and what will you sacrifice to get there?”
Janney is set to star as socialite and full-time Palm Beach resident, Evelyn, who is everything Maxine Simmons hopes to be. Dern is currently only officially attached to the project as an executive producer, but she is reportedly eyeing a key role in the series as well.
Mrs. American Pie comes from Abe Sylvia (The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Dead to Me), who serves as the series showrunner. Tate Taylor is set to direct the 10-episode season. Taylor previously directed Janney in The Help, The Girl On The Train, Breaking News In Yuba County, and even Ma.
This marks Janney’s first series role since wrapping up Chuck Lorre’s comedy Mom. Over the course of eight seasons, Janney earned eight Emmy nominations, winning two. Those weren’t her first awards though, as she also received Emmys for her work on Masters Of Sex and The West Wing. Some of her other banner projects include Juno and I, Tonya.
In addition to Mrs. American Pie, Janney will soon appear in Gareth Edwards’ feature True Love, as well as the forthcoming thriller Lou. When it comes to other comedies, Janney has a role in The People We Hate At The Wedding opposite Kristen Bell and Ben Platt.